Sample Chapter

LISTEN TO THIS © 2009 Mark Evan Bonds, Ph.D. ISBN 10: 0131838253 ISBN-13: 9780131838253 Visit www.pearsonhighered.com/replocator to contact your local Pearson representative. Chapter begins on next page >> SAMPLE CHAPTER www.pearsonhighered.com M19_BONDS8253_01_SE_C19.QXD 9/29/08 8:10 PM Page 171 PART 4 The Classical Era classic is something that endures, and the music of what The eighteenth century as a whole, but particularly the we now call the Classical Era—a period extending from period between about 1720 and 1790, is known as the Age of Aroughly 1750 to 1800—was the first to thrive without inter- Enlightenment. Enlightenment thought held that reason could ruption long after its composers had died. Joseph Haydn bring humankind to a new age of splendor, freed from the (1732–1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), dark superstitions of the past (hence “enlightenment”). For the two leading composers of this era, wrote music that has Enlightenment artists and thinkers, the power to convince lay never really gone out of fashion. The term “classical” also not in overwhelming displays of opulence, or in larger-than- refers to Greek and Roman antiquity, which strongly influ- life drama, or in the expression of a particular effect—all of enced the arts and architecture of this period. As a new kind which aimed to influence the emotions—but rather in critical of thinking took hold, the Baroque love of ornamentation, thinking and reasoned discussion, which aimed to persuade virtuosity, and expressive extremes gave way to more classi- the mind. cal ideals of balance, clarity, and naturalness. The music of the Classical Era reflects these principles of clarity, proportion, and what critics of the day called “naturalness.” Classical-Era melodies are on the whole more tuneful, less complicated, and more balanced than those of the Baroque era. More symmetrical melodic phrasing, based on the rhythms of dance music, extended itself across all genres, both ᭣ This intriguing image captures the Enlightenment’s ideal of the mind—the seat of reason—as the focal point of all perception. Claude Nicolas Ledoux (1736–1806), “Eye Enclosing the Theatre at Besancon, France,” 1847. Engraving. © Bibliothèque des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France. Archives Charmet/The Bridgeman Art Library. M19_BONDS8253_01_SE_C19.QXD 9/29/08 8:10 PM Page 172 172 PART 4 The Classical Era vocal and instrumental. Critics of the day praised homo- phonic texture for its clarity and grace, and the dense tex- tures of counterpoint became the exception rather than the rule. But this does not mean that music of the Classical Era is somehow simpler, for a typical movement of music from this period features more internal contrasts than its Baroque counterpart. A typical movement in sonata form, the most important new structural innovation of the era (and one used in Mozart’s Symphony no. 40 in G Minor), juxtaposes multiple themes that differ markedly in their melody, rhythm, harmony, dynamics, and timbre. Music as Language A string quartet such as Joseph Haydn’s op. 76, no. 3 was often described as four rational individuals conversing ᭡ Joseph Wright, An Experiment on a Bird in the Air-Pump, 1768. A scientist in music. It fits that the string quartet developed in the demonstrates the effect of a vacuum jar on a small bird. The young boy at the right lowers the cage for the bird, which will be revived when air is reintro- Classical Era, when instrumental music began to be duced to the bowl. Empirical science and the application of reason dominated heard as a language all its own. In the Baroque era and Enlightenment thought. before, the only music thought truly meaningful was © National Gallery, London that with a sung text; instrumental music was perceived primarily as a means of entertainment. In the eighteenth century, for the first time, critics described musical structures in terms of language. They recognized that the phrases in a melody corresponded in a general way to the opening and closing phrases in a sentence. Writers of the Enlightenment liked to call music the “language of the heart”—as opposed to verbal language, “the language of the mind”—and in this way, instrumental music moved up a notch in prestige. ᭤ Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia, shown in an early engraving. Jefferson designed the Rotunda after the Pantheon of ancient Rome. Sym- metry is important in Classical architecture as well as in the music of the Classical Era, though on closer inspection very few structures—or melodies—prove entirely symmetrical. Each of the large houses for faculty in this “academical village” is slightly different from the others. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library M19_BONDS8253_01_SE_C19.QXD 9/29/08 8:10 PM Page 173 The Classical Era PART 4 173 Music and Revolution The plot of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s comic opera The Marriage of Figaro (1786) would have been unthinkable only a generation before. Count Almaviva, a nobleman, is outwitted by his servants. This opera captures the growing mood of discontent with the established order of society in the decades leading up to the French Revolution. Basic ideas about human rights (“life, lib- erty, and the pursuit of happiness,” to quote the U.S. Declaration of Independence) won growing acceptance during this time. Enlightenment social critics such as Voltaire (1694–1778) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) argued for the innate goodness of human beings and for the rational pursuit of personal and socie- tal betterment. The U.S. Declaration of Independence is a quintes- sential document of the Enlightenment, for it recognizes the ᭡ George Washington accepts the surrender of British troops at inherent dignity of the individual. Its principal author, Thomas Yorktown in 1781, marking the end of the Revolutionary War. The military band present at the occasion played “Yankee Doodle” and Jefferson, established the University of Virginia (see image) on the a tune called “The World Turned Upside Down.” premise that the institution would be “based on the illimitable John Trumbull (American, 1756–1843), “The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow Yorktown, 19 October 1781,” 1787–c. 1828. Yale University Art Gallery / Art truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as Resource, NY reason is left free to combat it.” The American Revolution (1775–81) established the independence of the United States from Great Britain, and the French Revolution (1789) overthrew the power of what until that time had been the world’s most powerful monarchy. The results affected not just the coun- tries immediately involved, but ultimately every nation in the Western world. National independence and democracy, if not always realized in practice, became new ideals of social order. These new ideals, in turn, paved the way for new approaches to education, including the establishment of the first state-run conservatory of music, in Paris, in 1795. The lead- ers of the new French Republic and the monarchy they had just overthrown agreed on at least one point: that music was an important means of projecting cultural power. Music and the New Economy The second half of the eighteenth century witnessed the beginnings of an even more powerful revolution, one that would change everyday life throughout the Western world. Rapid advances in technology—the steam engine, the cotton gin, and the prin- ciple of manufacturing based on interchangeable parts, to cite just a few examples— made it possible to produce goods on a far greater scale than ever before. Many national and local economies based on agriculture began to shift toward industry. Cities grew rapidly in size during this period, and this growth in urban populations in turn created new demands for cultural institutions of all kinds, including music. ᭤ Musical audiences were more diverse in the late 18th century than they had been in earlier times, when performances were attended largely by the nobility and aristocracy. In this caricature, an amateur music-lover sings along with the soloist on the stage of the opera, much to the consternation of the real performers. Rowlandson, Thomas (1756–1827), “John Bull at the Italian Opera,” 1811. Engraving. Gerald Coke Handel Collection, Foundling Museum, London / The Bridgeman Art Library. M19_BONDS8253_01_SE_C19.QXD 9/29/08 8:10 PM Page 174 174 PART 4 The Classical Era While the churches and royal courts remained important centers of culture, theaters and concert halls open to the paying public began to flourish for the first time on a widespread scale. We see these changes in the careers of both Haydn and Mozart. Haydn worked almost all his adult life in the service of one aristocratic family, composing symphonies, sonatas, and operas according to the desires of his employers. By the 1790s, however, Haydn was lured away to England to write symphonies, including the Symphony no. 102 in B Major, among other works, for a series of public concerts organized by a musical entrepreneur. Mozart left his native Salzburg at the age of 25 to seek his fortune in Vienna. He tried unsuccessfully to land a secure job at the imperial court there, but he managed to support himself reasonably well (for a time, at least) by giving public concerts, by writing operas, and by composing works that could be published and sold to music-loving amateurs. Composers had to write in ways that would appeal to this expanded audience even while maintaining the high standards of their craft. Works like the Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 488, were the perfect lure for audiences intrigued by Mozart’s virtuosity both as a composer and as a performer.

Load more